Romans 9: 7-12

(Romans 9: 7-12)

Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.  That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son.  And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac;  (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;)  It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger.

Also, Paul speaks of the twins Esau and Jacob, born through Isaac and Rebekah. 『Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sara shall have a son. 』Ishmael and Isaac had different mothers. But Esau and Jacob were born twins of the same mother. But God chose Jacob instead of Esau.

 

About God's choosing Jacob, And not only this; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac; (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth;) God's choice of Jacob is that it is not through any of Jacob's actions, but through God alone. God's election is God's absolute sovereignty, and is accomplished in God's good will and mercy.

"It is as it is written, "I loved Jacob, and I hated Esau." The place where it is written is Malachi. “John Bunyan”, who wrote the heavenly path, realized that he was a sinner to die to God. When he comes to God, he says that what he read was the words of Romans 9. But he fell into trouble. His concern was, "Isn't I the chosen one?" If I weren't the chosen one, I started to think, "What good is all I believe and do?" This was an almost desperate concern for him. Calvin spoke of predestination, but before that he spoke of the total fall of man. Likewise, Romans 1-3 speak of the total fall of man. Chapter 4 talks about faith. John Bunyan pondered, "Isn't that the chosen one?" He added, "How can I know that I have the faith to be saved?" It is said that this concern lasted for 10 years. Election is linked to the seed of promise.

 

It is said that it is “God's will that is according to his choice”. Jesus said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." In Matthew's Gospel, the king prepared a wedding feast for his son and sent an invitation, but no one came. After the king gets angry and burns and destroys their town, have a servant to bring anyone. Jesus gave the illustration that the evil one, the good one, and anyone came. The first refers to the people of Israel in the Old Testament era, and the second refers to those who believe that anyone who believes will be saved. However, in the second example, the king bound the hands and feet of the undressed man and threw them in a dark place. Many are thus called, but few are elected.

 

In Romans 9:7-13, there are children of the flesh and children of the promise. In the book of Galatians, this word also means Ishmael who was born after the flesh and Isaac who was born after the Holy Spirit.
“Only the child of promise is considered a seed.” This means being born again. If we look at the story of Isaac's wife, Rebekah, the Bible says, "God's will, according to his election, when his children were not yet born and did not do any good or evil." Before Rebekah's children (Jacob and Esau) were born, Rebekah heard from God, "The great will serve the young." But the Bible says that they were arguing with each other in Rebekah's stomach. Esau was born first and became the greatest, and Jacob was born next. The order of birth was born according to behavior. It is the law of the body. The strong come first, and the weak come last. Election is not based on the seed of flesh, but on the seed of promise.

 

John the Baptist said, "Because the kingdom of God is near, repent and prepare for the way of the Lord." God gives the gift of faith to the repentant. This is the faith of the elect. John Bunyan's concern was that he read Romans 9 from the beginning of the problem. The gospel begins with repentance. Like John Bunyan, the worries about “I am elected or not” are not God-given, but human. Human concerns must be tailored to whether or not they are on the way to repentance. At that time, God was showing John Bun-yeon through his dreams, "A lot of people dancing with joy" through the gaps.

 

John Bun-yeon dreamed of going through the gap. And immediately, John Bunyan realizes the meaning of the dream, realizing that the people who dance in the gap are born again believers. He realized that he was not born again. How narrow the gap was, he was considered to be a place that he could not pass without laying down the flesh of sin in order to pass through this gap. What he realized is that this gap is the Christ on the cross. It is a confession that we cannot go through this gap without repentance of self-denial.

We cannot believe in Christ until we repent. Many churches today have blurred the nature of repentance. In Romans 9:31-33, ``But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. 』

 

Those who do not repent become like stumbling blocks and rough rocks against Christ. But they say they believe in Jesus because they decided to believe. All cannot receive the seed of promise without repentance of self-denial. In order for faith in the seed of promise to come, there must be repentance of self-denial for faith to come from God. Otherwise, as in Galatians 3:23, you become bound by the law. Faith in the seed of promise, as in Romans 6:4, is believing that God pours out the seed of promise so that he can be reborn into a spiritual body if he is buried with Jesus who died on the cross.

 

Before Jesus died on the cross, Peter had many miraculous experiences and experiences. The same goes for other disciples. Even the Jews who experienced amazing miracles abandoned Jesus on the cross. Jesus, standing on the cross, became a stone, a rough rock against them. Today, many people say that Jesus is my rock, but without self-denial's repentance, it is just a rough rock that falls. No matter how long they live in the church and live their faith, if there is no self-denial repentance, Jesus is nothing more than a rough rock to them before the cross. In 1 Corinthians 10:4-5, "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 』Even if people experience the Holy Spirit, they cannot be saved unless they repent. We can say that we are born again only when we have the work of the Holy Spirit indwelling us.

 

Repentance is turning away from sin. In order to be forgiven of sins, you are dead to sin. Who Dies? Only the greed of wickedness, the original sin of wickedness, and the flesh received from parents and buried with Jesus is regeneration and freedom from sin. You must become another being born from heaven. This being is a being that cannot be seen by the fleshly eyes, who have a spiritual body that has nothing to do with sin. In 1 John 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 』

 

Those who believe in the change of heart in the body received from their parents as being born again do not understand the rebirth of resurrection. If you focus on the body you received from your parents, you do not understand being born again. The body received from parents is wholly depraved by greed. It is not the evil of the body, but a body contaminated with greed in the body. Washing away from sin does not make this body clean. In 1 Peter 3:21, ``The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 』 We cannot enter the ark unless we are reborn as other beings through self-denial repentance. The ark is in Christ. The ark will close at some point. That point may be right before your eyes.